Crossing Tracks
by Gaara Sempai
Summary: What happens when paths intersect that are never meant to do so? The world will not ever be the same, and fate is never fair. OMCxKiba, OFCxNaruto/Gaara, lime-romance, abuse, tragedy and potential character death. Potential OOC-ness and some AU. Collab with SuperDifabulous! HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Hello people of the universe! I'm back!**

**Again, I'm sorry for the horrible ending to Itachi's Neesan a while back. It won't happen again, and actually I started the rewrite last week... Anyway... I'm back :D**

**What's gonna happen is this: I'm gonna try and summarize this as best I can.**

**Essentailly, the first 7 or so chapters is kind of a The naruto characters discovered our universe parallel to theirs. I know it's corny and unoriginal. Well throughout the journey, Teashi Kumasu (literally on four paws bear den XD) and Akiko Nakamoto (no translation that I've found)ar shinobi who've been through a lot, and there's definitely more to come. After that it becomes all romance-ish and whatnot. Really a cute story once it gets going. **

**This is a collaboration between me and Superdifabulous :D I'll keep you all updated on his work, he took down all his stuff a while back and it makes me upset that he did. Author alert him or I'll make sure you know about his stuff cause he's an excellent writer. *cough* I still remember your KibaNaru! *cough***

**That's about all I have to say... except this.**

**This story will take a long time to do, I can say that with confidence. Mostly cause I'm lazy and difficult to work with. He knows that very well, haha... ha... I need a life. _**

**Reviews are appreciated! **

**On with the whimsical tale! It gets signifigantly better in 2 & 3, very emotional. But those will each be up in a long long time. Like, probably sometime next month, just saying.**

**Read it, and then review~!**

Chapter One

"Teashi Kumasu, I'm talking to you! Hey! Wait up!" Kiba Inuzuka yelped, running down Shirato Street after the slightly taller, as well as older (only by a few weeks) ocean blue-eyed teen walking about thirty feet ahead of him.

"Hm?" Teashi slowed to a stop and turned around just as the slightly shorter Inuzuka rammed into him, knocking them both to the ground.

Getting up and then helping the dog-ninja off of the ground, Teashi spoke,  
"What'd you need Kiba?

"Nothing, I just wanted to talk to you about tonight." Kiba smiled.

A small yelp-like whine came from the direction of the ground, Akamaru.

"Hey, Akamaru." Teashi grinned, sitting cross-legged on the ground to pet the large animal.

Akamaru actually allowed himself to be petted by someone other than his owner.

Kiba stared onward as the dog put his head in the crease of Teashi's shoulder and flopped down on top of him as his back was stroked. Teashi somewhat gasped for air as the almost 300 pound animal sat on his rib cage.

"He likes you, Teashi," laughed Kiba.

"And I like him too!" The Kumasu boy returned the chuckle.

"Anyway, we still on for dinner at my house tonight?"

"Yeah, but you don't have to do this if you don't want to." Teashi shrugged like he didn't care. However, he really did want to go over. Only Akiko and one or two very close friends knew he had strong feelings for Kiba, although he wasn't quite sure what they were yet.

"Anyway, I'll see you at my house?" Kiba asked.

"What time again?" the older teen asked.

"7:30ish, give or take."

"I'll be there."

"Mom's making dog treats, so don't forget to bring Amai and even Chin. Since you're watching Akiko's dog this week while she's on a mission."

"Yeah, of course I will." Teashi smiled, turning and walking rather quickly back to his apartment that he shared with an old friend, as well as team-mate, from the Ninja Academy, and their two dogs.

The Kumasu boy owned Amai, while Akiko, his roommate, owned Chin, who she commonly nicknamed Chinchin. Most people saw Akiko as odd, but she labeled it "creative."

The two dogs, however, were different. As they were about the same age, they could generally be found on the couch laying side by side.

Teashi unlocked the door to the rather nice apartment. It was medium sized. Upon walking in, one was faced with a closet. A large, white-leather couch leaned against the wall, a coffee table in front.

Directly to the right of the couch was an open door frame leading to the seldom-used formal dining room. Next to that was an open kitchen with no real walls to speak of. Adjacent to the kitchen was a long, narrow hallway containing the bathroom, a hallway closet and two decent-sized bedrooms.

Ignoring the cries for food from Amai, as she had already been fed, Teashi dropped his bag on the floor, rid himself of his shoes, and walked down the hall to the bathroom to stare in the mirror, in an attempt to figure out to do with his hair and wardrobe for the evening.

He was about 5' 10" tall, with shaggy, light brown hair, a slightly tan complexion, and deep blue eyes. He had a distinct jawline, but his facial shape was still rather round. Teashi wore a black collared jacket with a white v-shaped design spanning across the chest area, and black shorts that ended just past his knees. A small amount of fishnet peeked out under the jacket, as the zipper was halfway down his torso. He also wore black sandals on his feet with bandaged ankles. A shuuriken pouch remained positioned around his left thigh, as he was left handed.

Finally sighing and turning away, working through what might look good on him for the evening, Teashi made his way to his bedroom.

Teashi began looking through his closet, he found many t-shirts and sweatshirts, along with multiple sets of his ANBU uniform, but nothing truly formal.

He hoped it wasn't a formal event.

No, it couldn't be. It was just Kiba. They'd known each other forever.

According to Akiko, some Kirigakure shinobi discovered a way to another dimension, as cheesy as it sounded, Teashi found it quite interesting when Akiko last described it. It was forbidden to travelers and actually, most shinobi, and they had incredibly strange fashions.

Things like "gauges", when one stretched their earlobe to fit an even larger earring. Past a point, Akiko explained they didn't look good anymore.

Akiko had been to this other world several times, mainly because she appeared to be a native. At least, more than anyone else from the 5 great Lands.

"It's so quiet..." Teashi murmured to himself, sorting through drawers and such.

Soon, Chin came trotting in the room. At over 13 years of age, he would normally be an active ninja hound, however both Chin and Amai had been permanently decommissioned from missions, and for good reason.

"Hi Chin." Teashi smiled and bent down to pet the small animal.

The dog took a flying leap up onto the bed.

"What's up? You don't normally sit there. Do you miss Akiko?" he petted the fluffy dog, and the animal put his head in his paws, hiding his face from view.

Suddenly sitting bolt upright, Chin pawed at the boy's hand.

"What's up?" he asked, and the dog hopped down, tugging on his pant leg.

"I'm following, I'm following." Teashi allowed himself to be tugged out of the room and across the hall.

The dog stopped and pawed at Akiko's closed bedroom door.

"Akiko's room?" he asked.

The canine whined, scratching furiously at the door.

"Okay, okay. I'm opening it!" the brown haired boy turned the knob to the door and walked inside.

"What is it?"

Chin ran around in circles, and suddenly flopped on his back wiggling around against the rug.

"You just wanted the carpet?" Teashi sweat-dropped, but then his attention turned to the door of the closet.

Hanging up on it was a dark red t-shirt with a brown bear paw print on the front, beige cargo shorts. A nice looking hooded brown vest came with it. It wasn't as heavily insulated as a winter vest, and was a lot lighter as well, the hood had a very gentle accent of tan fur bordering it. It looked formal-casual, therefore it would suffice.

A note was stuck to it.

"You might need this for Kiba's house. :P

Also, get out of my room.

You too, Chinchin." bearing Akiko's illegible signature at the end.

"Akiko, you sly little..." Teashi trailed off jokingly, taking the clothes off the hangers and going back into his room to go get changed. After Chin had itched his back on the rough carpet to his hearts content and left, the light brown haired 16 year old closed the door.

Upon changing, Teashi looked at his clock.

7:00.

Half an hour.

Shit.

He brushed his hair and his teeth, finishing the hygiene tasks and pulled on the nice jacket, running out the door with dogs in tow.

He had to return home because upon making it to the bottom floor of the apartment complex, he realized the lights were on. Electricity was a lot of money these days, even with two anbu level jounin salaries flowing in each month.

After finally completing other minor tasks like turning off lights and checking the stereo, which actually didn't need to be turned off. (It usually did because when Akiko was home, something was always playing.)

"C'mon, Amai, Chin. We have a date to make." Teashi grinned, quickening his pace ever so slightly, eager to see the other boy as well as his family.

An added bonus was he knew Tsume could cook. Hell yeah!

**I know it was short. I'll update within the next week or so!**

**Goodnight, world!**


	2. Dinner at Kiba's

**Lol, I'm back. What's up?**

**FYI~ later plot events are indeed bizarre. Don't hold me to that, you all should know by now I'm certifiably insane.  
**

**I have to go clean my room, and chapter 3 will be up soon~~ PS. Check my updated profile for the things I'm writing (alone). The collabs will be of very short notice.  
**

* * *

Chapter Two

"Hey, Teashi. Where're you headed?" It was Naruto.

"I'm headed to Kiba's. His family invited me for dinner." Teashi grinned, now walking backwards to pay attention to what the Uzumaki was saying.

"Listen, have you seen Akiko?"

"She's back in the space-break...I still have yet to hear from her," Teashi shrugged.

"Ohhhhhhhh... That explains why she didn't come to Ichiraku's!"

"Why would she go there anyway?"

"It was a date, Ashi! Didn't she tell you?" Naruto exclaimed, using the nickname the Akiko had given him a few years prior.

"No...She didn't inform me."

"Well we both love ramen, and I asked her out. She said okay, and I waited for three hours like 'what the hell?' you know?"

"Yeah. But apparently she had no choice in this matter, so don't get too mad."

"Yeah, anyway, you better get to Kiba's. I smelled good food from the complex earlier today."

"I hope so!" Teashi rubbed his stomach and laughed.

"Take care, Ashi!" Naruto waved and ran off.

"I haven't seen him in forever..." Teashi mumbled to himself, wishing almost that he could see more of his friends nowadays. Missions were all over, and he'd also been bedridden for six weeks after the mission that actually was the cause of why he was headed to Kiba's right now.

Teashi turned right at the end of the street and entered the small Inuzuka complex. He finally found Kiba's house, and knocked on the door.

Hana, Kiba's older sister, opened it.

"Hi, Teashi." she smiled. Three massive dogs trailed close behind her, and both Chin and Amai rushed in seeing their new friends.

"You didn't have to dress up, you know." Hana shrugged.

"It's better to be overdressed than under, I suppose." was the Kumasu teen's response.

"You're right about that one," spoke the black dog to her right, Kuromaru.  
"Anyway..." Hana said, switching her gaze from Kuromaru and his younger compatriot, Shen, to the young Kumasu boy, "c'mon in." The tall girl opened the door and Teashi entered. The house smelled of amazing food and dog biscuits, quite a combination but nonetheless inviting.

"Kiba! Teashi's here!" Hana yelled up the stairs with a snicker. She spotted the little glances the older teen would give her little brother now and then, and had her reasonable suspicions.

Kiba's reply was muffled.

"He'll be down soon. Make yourself at home." Hana left the room with her dogs and Tsume took her place.

"I really can't thank you enough." the gruff, older woman wrapped her arms around Teashi like he was family. The whole situation was slightly awkward for the teen, but it felt good to feel like he belonged somewhere.

"It's nothing, really." Teashi shrugged and Tsume released her grip, returning the grin the Kumasu was giving her.

"Nothing? My son would've been dead by today if you hadn't saved him!"

"That's what teammates are for." the brown haired teen blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his head, staring at the floor.

"Kiba! We have a guest, get your ass down here!" Tsume yelled up the stairs. Teashi, seated on the couch with yet another dog licking his face, laughed nervously.

"Tell him to take his time."

"No, he should've been ready when you were at the door." she mumbled, returning to the kitchen.

"I'm here." Kiba landed at the bottom of the stairs and stood up, implying that he had leapt from the top.

"Hey." Teashi waved with a shy glance at the other boy. The older teen winced as now three massive dogs laid on his lap and Akamaru was no doubt headed their way to join them.

"The dogs sure like you...you sure you're not one of us?" Kiba laughed, helping the Kumasu up from the massive ball of fur he was in the middle of.

"Kiba, Teashi! Food's ready!" Tsume yelled from the kitchen.

"We should go in, Mom'll get irritated if we don't show in the next fifteen seconds." Kiba whispered and the other boy nodded with a smirk.

"Kiba! I heard that!"

* * *

Once everyone was seated on their mats around a low table, the meal was served.

Rice balls with seaweed, grilled vegetables, and barbequed meat. Delicious.

Splitting the conjoined chopsticks, Teashi politely waited for everyone else to get their food.

"Teashi," Kiba grinned, shoving meat onto his own plate, smiled.  
"Whattaya waiting for?"

"Nothing, I guess." he mumbled with a shy smile, pulling some meat onto his plate.

"Teashi?" Kiba asked.

"Hm?" he responded.

"Did you hear that Lee and Sakura are going out?" Kiba began to laugh halfway through his statement.

"I know!" Teashi's eyes grew wide.  
"I feel so bad for Lee..." he added.

"Why is that?"

"He just found out some guy owed his father a lot of money, and because his father died, the money is his. Sakura's a total gold digger." Teashi stuffed a small amount of grilled vegetables into his mouth.

"No...get out," Kiba's eyes grew wide and he dropped the rice ball he was eating, "that's terrible!"

"Yeah, I know."

"Enough about the skank." Hana growled. She'd met Sakura once before and could not stand her, and for good reason.

"Tsume, this is absolutely delicious." Teashi wiped his mouth with a napkin and gave her a warm smile.

"It's my pleasure. Eat up, we also have dessert."

Using his chop sticks, Teashi grabbed more meat and decided to try a rice ball.

It was warm and soft, and the seaweed provided an earthy and salty crunch. It was quite delicious.

"Enjoying it, Teashi?" Kiba laughed.

"Could you tell?" he responded, slightly embarrassed he'd been caught zoning out, especially by Kiba.

"You were staring at it in an awestruck way. There are more, if you want them." he gestured to the plate of rice.

"No, I'll save room for dessert." He smiled, gently nudging his plate forward.

"Who wants dessert then?" Tsume asked, clearing the table.

"Me, please." Teashi and Kiba requested in unison.

* * *

Soon everyone had chocolate cake, and was beginning to make conversation.

"Tell me exactly how Teashi saved you, Kiba." Hana grinned, leaning forward. Teashi silently cursed her, she was relishing this.

"I don't exactly remember..." Kiba turned red(der) and turned to the boy sitting next to him, who was also turning a fair shade of crimson.

"Tell us, it's been almost 2 months, but you're finally up and on your feet again. Tell your story, Teashi!" Hana grinned, with a shimmer in her eyes.

"Well, Kiba was captured on a mission we had, and I went to go find him. It was in Otogakure, so it was already pretty dangerous. But Orochimaru had found him so... I'd rather not repeat some of the things I came across... for my sake and his."

"No, it's okay..." Kiba whispered. "You saved me, and we should be able to tell the whole story."

"Well, Kiba...he was being used for an experiment, tied helplessly to a pole... Seriously, if you want me to stop, I will."

"No, it's okay, Teashi."

"You sure?"

"I'm positive, now tell the story!"

"Okay, okay."

"Anyway, there was a lot of fire and smoke. Kiba was tied up and drugged, on the verge of death. I just couldn't leave him..." Teashi trailed off with a slight hiccup when he finished. Kiba glanced at him, and thought he saw a tear fall from the shinobi's eye.

"So..." the Kumasu continued,  
"I untied him, and carried him back to Konoha..."

"Wowww!" Hana swooned with an evil smirk at Teashi.

"Teashi...that was very courageous, and my son is very thankful," Tsume said, aggressively nudging her son with her elbow.

"I already said thank you!" Kiba whispered, hiding his face in his arms.

There was a loud knock at the door.

"Who could that be?" Tsume asked, getting up to get the door.

"Kumasu Teashi, Inuzuka Kiba. Your presence is requested immediately in the Hokage's office." Two fellow ANBU black ops members stood in the doorway.

"What's this about?" they stood up.

"No details were disclosed, now please, follow us."

"Alright, c'mon Kiba." Teashi took off running. The Hokage said she'd only summon him if something really serious was going on, and Teashi had a feeling it had something to do with Akiko's mission in the separate dimension.

"Mrs. Inuzuka, we have to go now, thank you do much for the delicious meal. you can send Amai and Chin home when it's time, they can find their way back. Kiba, come on!" Teashi was panicking now, the words flew out of his mouth at an intense speed.

His imagination was getting the best of him.

Dammit.

They burst through the doors to Tsunade's office.

"Lady Tsuande, what happened?" Teashi was panting, he'd sprinted the entire way, and dragged Kiba along too.

"Kiba, Teashi, it's about Akiko..."

* * *

**Gasp! Cliffie. Nah, I know you don't care.**

**1,469 plot words to this chapter. Woo! **

**God, I hate cleaning. Especially the toilets. Cause I have to do it with my hands.  
**

**Reviews = love! And p.s., I'll try and start Akatsuki, my love somewhere in the neighborhood of July.  
**

**Woo! 18 school days left! (Including days I have to go back in for testing.)  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, I'm back after forever and three days.**

**This story is like, mostly not mine. My buddy superdifabulous did a majority of this. He doesn't have anything now, but he will soon, I promise.  
**

**He's a way better writer than me. P.S. I'm on fictionpress but I won't post much for a while. I'll let you know my pen name and when I have a story when I have it. Until then, read this here on fanfiction ^w^  
**

3Crossing Tracks:

"What about Akiko, what happened?" Teashi growled at the vagueness of the Hokage's statement, slamming his hands on her desk.

"Where is she?"

Tsunade sighed, picking up a note written on the back of some paper.

"Since my last visit, they've learned more about shinobi. They know of my fear of open flame now... and used it to their advantage. This fear does not stop my chakra any longer... but they can and have.

Send Teashi and Kiba, they know what to do. No one else.

-Nakamoto Akiko."

"Akiko hurled this note attached to a kunai through the space-break as it closed. Several shinobi reported that she was tackled by men wearing black suits and carrying large automatic weapons." Tsunade took the note back.

"Why didn't they save her?" Teashi was frantic.

"The space break, at that point was too small for even the smallest shinobi to fit into."

"I see... and why didn't they open a new one?"

"As of now, they can only be opened by three men in the entire Shinobi world. Once opening, all chakra is depleted. If they opened one now, they would die and Akiko would likely have been stuck there forever. Added to that, the men with the firearms would've gotten in. It also opens in a different place each time."

"So who's gonna go rescue her?" Kiba asked.

"You two, of course." Tsunade put simply.

"When?"

"As soon as possible. Go get changed into your anbu uniforms. Also on her way back last time, Akiko sent some of their money. Enough to get you disguises.  
No katanas, just two kunai each.  
Remember, chakra depletes quickly in that realm. Use it sparingly. Make your way to Kirigakure, and carry these passes. They'll allow you admittance to such a world."

Teashi took the passes from the Hokage, tossing the second at Kiba.

"This is an official S-rank mission. Go."

* * *

"Teashi, we have no time to waste. Kirigakure is a four day's journey non-stop!" Kiba yelled after him. The Kumasu teen was far ahead.

"Then hurry up!" he called over his shoulder.

"I'll meet you at the Village Gates in ten minutes."

They dispersed, Teashi to his apartment and Kiba to his home.

Teashi pulled on his anbu uniform rather quickly. He only wore the chest armor, not worrying about the forearm guards. He grabbed his mask off of the counter in the kitchen, and slid it on. It was in the form of a bear's face, with a wide grin and a design on the left half that resembled curly, crimson, wisps.

He met Kiba at the main Village gate. Without speaking a word to each other, they took off running in the forest.

"Teashi?"

"What's up?"

"What's going on, I mean... how did Akiko become so afraid of fire, does it have something to do with the scar over her eye?" Kiba asked.

Teashi's pace quickened, and he was completely mute.

"And does it have to do why you're so quiet?"

"Tell me what happened."

Silence

Kiba and Akamaru moved up closer to Teashi, trying to press an answer out of him.

This made the Kumasu boy blush, and his heartbeat quickened.  
Teashi was glad he was wearing a mask.

"We should stop for the night. Don't stray from camp, you'll get caught in my genjutsu." Teashi warned, hopping up to the top of the tallest tree. There was a large lake nearby and it was also in a clearing, an ideal place for setting up camp.

"Water Style: Hallucinogenic Mist: Security Barrier!"

A thick fog enveloped the area surrounding the camp and cutting off the lake at some distance out.

Teashi hopped down to the ground. Akamaru laid on the ground, Kiba curled up beside him, not quite asleep.

Teashi sat on a rock on the sandy, moon-lit beach near the water, using minor jutsu to manipulate the ripples in the liquid to his will. Small, gentle, whirlpool-like currents formed, each sweeping away leaves and grasses in it's docile, free-flowing grasp.

"Teashi?"

The currents became larger and then subsided, carrying the things inside it to the bottom.

"Yeah?" came Teashi's soft reply as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Why won't you tell me? I can tell something's bothering you. Does it have to do with Akiko's scars, and her fear of fire? Do the same things bother you both? I want to help you, but first you have to tell me-"

"Stop." the single word lingered about in the dead silent air around them.

"Do you really want to know?" Teashi added after a brief, awkward silence.

"Absolutely, I-"

"Then don't talk and just listen."

Kiba nodded.

"Akiko and I... we've always been close friends in a way, even when we didn't speak, we knew more about how each other felt than anyone else."

Teashi paused.

"Kiba, do you remember a series of arsonist explosions near the outer edge of the Village about 6 years back?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Me and Akiko were sitting in the forest nearby, it's quite easy to slip through a hole in the fence when you're nine years old. I was eating lunch and she was staring at the clouds overhead after we finished training..." he stopped, as if reminiscing.

"And after a while we decided to head back ..." he paused again.

Kiba listened, thinking this is probably the most Teashi had ever spoken at once. They'd hang out a lot, and Teashi would make a lot of gestures, but he never really spoke.

"And boom... People went flying, and I was hit by a large shard of debris..." He stopped and began to remove his anbu armor and then the shirt underneath, showing Kiba his back.

Three long scars ran from the top of his right shoulder to about where his left kidney was. The skin was also scarred and appeared as a shiny, dark, brownish crimson with a rough texture.  
"I...I was paralyzed from the waist down for a long time, " he stammered, the redness flowed out of his cheeks. He still didn't make eye contact.  
"I was told I could never walk again, that my shinobi career was over before it truly started. And Akiko, she was rather lucky, as far as physical damage. I didn't see much, but she was literally on fire. Her skin burned... and I was virtually helpless to stop it. I still hear her screaming, all the time. The last thing I made sure I did was to get the fire at least off of her and the dogs. Nobody else was quite so lucky. All that survived of the series of explosions were me, Akiko, and the dogs. She witnessed far more destruction than me, and actually isn't as sound mentally as she appears. And the doctors tell me neither am I..." he stopped talking after that.

Kiba was fascinated with how clean the cuts were, he reached out in curiosity, seeing if Teashi would let him make contact. The Inuzuka's fingers inched out to touch the markings. His warm hand no sooner than touched touched the charred skin and the Kumasu immediately tensed up, his cheeks turning a bright shade of crimson, and pulling away ever so slightly. Teashi turned to face Kiba. Kiba's eyes made their way to Teashi's meeting his gaze. The full moon was in such a position, it was directly behind the Kumasu boy. It illuminated his entire body, taking up the sky behind him. Kiba's eyes then trailed to the ground, as a blush had crept onto his face. When he looked up again, Teashi's solemn face remained unmoved, and the clan marking on the left of his upper chest stood out more than usual. Suddenly, Teashi somewhat snapped out of a trance and turned around again, pulling on his clothes. An even more awkward silence followed until Kiba broke it moments later.

"I'm sorry... I... I... didn't know..." Kiba whispered.

"No, it's okay." he responded, staring out at the water again.

The little moonlight that shone through the thickening mist reflected off of the water.

"Because of that day, that day we both lost our homes, our parents, and she lost her baby sister. Very young. Only 4 years old. Because of that day, I vowed secretly that I'd protect Akiko, and that's why it's important we save her in time." Teashi said sternly, standing up and walking to the edge of the water.

"I'm going for a swim, I need to clear my head." he said, diving into the water.

"Goodnight, Teashi." Kiba whispered, falling asleep in Akamaru's scruffy fur, scratching the furry belly lightly, feeling completely safe.

* * *

Teashi resurfaced half an hour later and Kiba was asleep. No fire was lit, the only light being the moon.

Akamaru lifted his head slightly, seeing Teashi again, but put it back to the ground seeing no threat.

"Kiba, Akamaru... I'm sorry..."

Teashi formed a hand sign, and a genjutsu fell over them.

"I don't want you to wake to my screams."

* * *

**Gasp. Cliffie for two minutes. Cause I'm uploading 4 right now.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey. Wow it's been forever. *cough* four minutes *cough***

**Me and SuperD have written up to 9.5 now, meaning 9 isn't done and I've been really lazy. Anyway, he does a majority of the writing from 8 on, and I think it's really obvious cause I'm a bad writer D:  
**

* * *

Chapter Four

Akiko's loud and terrifying shrieks of pain echoed through Teashi's mind as he watched her burn to ash time and time again.

"No! That didn't happen! I saved her!" he insisted to himself.

Teashi woke himself with his own agonizing screams. He sat bolt upright from the ground and was holding himself, trying to determine if he was still dreaming. He was breathing really hard, and his heart pounded inside his chest as if it would explode out at any given moment.

Teashi rolled to his side, taking his kunai and poked it into the back of his palm. It took all the pain that kunai offered to finally make Teashi realize he wasn't asleep anymore, that it was just another nightmare.

His breathing slowed back to normal, as did his pulse. Teashi pulled the kunai from his hand and then wrapped it up.

The nightmares were all too real and all to normal for Teashi. While he slept all of the knotted up guilt inside of him tumbled around, no longer being suppressed. He had always felt responsible for Akiko's scars, the burns, even the partial insanity that came with her Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

He didn't let Akiko die, that was a fact.

Teashi had brought it upon himself to watch after Akiko after that. To protect her as he had been so unable to the night of the fire.  
But would he be able to do it again? Teashi pondered this, questioning his own abilities.  
He wouldn't forgive himself if he wasn't able to save Akiko, and he wouldn't forgive himself if Kiba managed to get hurt.

That was a fact.

"Kiba... Kiba..." Teashi shook the other Leaf-nin, lifting the genjutsu.

"Kiba!"

"What? Who's there?" he whipped around with a kunai in hand, making Teashi leap back.

"Kiba, it's just me!" he held up his hands to reassure the Inuzuka. His other clan marking, the small, black, bear paw print tattoo on his left palm, glowed in the moonlight similar to the one on his chest.

"We have to start moving now."  
Teashi sighed as he looked up at the full moon.

"Yeah...no problem..." Kiba groggily said as he supported himself with his elbows in an attempt to get up.

No cleanup was necessary, as no real camp was ever set up.

Teashi dispersed the hallucinogenic mist barrier he had set up and then he, Kiba, and Akamaru began to follow their route to Kirigakure. They'd have to double their pace to make up for lost time.

"Kiba, we have to speed up." Teashi reminded gently, slowing down ever so slightly as to wait for the dog-ninja.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Kiba called back.

"If we go at this pace morning we'll make it to Kirigakure by nightfall." Teashi spoke the words softly from behind his mask.

"Then let's go." Kiba whispered, now next to Teashi, matching his speed.

They leapt through the trees for four hours after that, only being briefly stopped on the border of the Land of Fire for shinobi passes, and that went smoothly.

After passing the checkpoint, the journey was without a hitch. They were about four miles from where the space-gate would be opened to allow them through.

"Stop right there!" came a confident booming voice, and then a net was shot into the open air.

"Give us your cash!" a lowly rogue genin from Kumogakure emerged from behind a nearby oak.

"I don't have time for you!" Teashi growled, dodging the net

"Earth Style: Split Arm Projecting Palm!"

A boy leapt down from the trees on top of Teashi, driving the ANBU into the unyielding forest ground. To Kiba, Teashi appeared dead, his vertebrae shattered.

"Teashi!" he unintentionally yelped, concern and worry enveloped his conscience.

Suddenly, there was a poof of thick smoke and shards of ice flew in all directions. Substitution ninjutsu.

The group of rogue Genin were overwhelmed with fear.

"This is over our heads! Retrea-" their leader was cut off.

Teashi effortlessly reached out and plucked one of them up, his pawprint-branded hand over the slightly smaller shinobi's mouth.

"What do you three think you're doing?" he eerily murmured through his bear mask.

The teen in the Kumasu's arms paled, and an opaquely yellow mist flowed out of Teashi's hand into the boy's airways.  
His eyes rolled to the back of his head and Teashi dropped him.  
The Kumogakure ninja, almost as if possessed, stood back up, unexpectedly knocked out his two comrades with blows to the back, and dragged them in the direction from which they appeared.

"Kiba, let's go." Teashi patted the flabbergasted Inuzuka on the shoulder and lightly shook him before the dog-ninja snapped back into reality and followed the now-leaving Kumasu.

"Teashi, wait up!"

* * *

"You two are the Kumasu Teashi and Inuzuka Kiba that Nakamoto Akiko specified?" a Kirigakure ninja adjusted his glasses to better look at their ninja passes. There were scientists bustling all around in the open field, and a large building stood, constructed into the nearby mountain.

Three tired-looking Kirigakure Ninja stood on top of a high platform at the top of some steps. One on each edge, and one in the center. Big enough for a portal.

"Yeah, that's us." Teashi removed his mask and placed it on the table upon request. The scientist said they'd have to run some tests to ensure that both Teashi and Kiba were healthy enough for inter-dimensional travel.

"Excellent, come with us."

The entire inside of the building was white. Upon walking in all eyes were focused upon the two Konoha shinobi.

"Step back here, a few simple tests will be required. Both of you, please remove your shirts."

Instantly, Teashi began to tense up. He was very sensitive about strangers getting near his back since the explosion that scarred him.

The doctor looked up at Teashi.

"Wait a moment, it says here Lady Tsunade has already checked Teashi. He's all set. Kiba, you will still need to submit to our tests, however."

Teashi breathed a sigh of relief and gave Kiba an apologetic glance. He wasn't going to let just anyone behind him to check his back for anything. Lady Tsunade was looking out for him. And he silently thanked her for that.

Teashi stared at the shirtless Inuzuka male sitting beside him as the doctor drew blood, took his pulse and blood pressure and tested all other major aspects of his health. Kiba looked back into Teashi's eyes and at this point the Kumasu boy realized he was staring. He returned the glance into the other teen's chocolate-colored eyes and blushed in extreme embarrassment. Kiba smirked and laughed softly to himself as Teashi turned away.

"You two are good to go, please follow me." the doctor interjected, allowing the color to drain from the older teen's cheeks.

* * *

A mere 10 minutes later, Teashi and Kiba found themselves at the entrance to the portal.

"These capsules have enough chakra in them to transport three people from the parallel dimension back here after you get there  
in the first place." a man explained and handed three crimson tablets to Teashi.  
"I understand..." started Teashi, who sealed them in a small scroll and stashed it in his ninja-pack.  
"But how long will travel prep and travel time take?" the ANBU asked. Kiba was trying to convince the scientists to let him bring Akamaru along. He didn't get an answer to his question, however, which made him slightly flustered.

"Akamaru has to stay," the doctor finally said, "if he goes we won't have enough chakra to get back."  
Kiba whimpered slightly as he heard this and Teashi patted his back in comfort.

"Okay, are you ready to go?" the leading ninja asked.  
The Konoha shinobi nodded.  
"You will not be traveling through pure vacuum, there will be other objects strewn about in said space. Ignore them and continue on the path." These were their final words of instruction.

"Understood, now are we ready?" Teashi asked, almost insisted.

"Yes, make your way to the top of the steps and wait for the hole to turn violet and begin hazily swirling."

The three previously mentioned shinobi stood at the top, their eyes closed and their hands formed the tiger seal.

"How will we know if it works?" Teashi asked. Suddenly, a thick translucent substance coated the Kumasu.

"What the fu-"

"On the first journey, there's a slight risk you'll burn up. This'll fix that." the scientist smiled as the light-brown eyed teen tried to wipe the gunk out of his cerulean eyes.

"Listen, when you get in there, locate the King of Prussia, it's a mall complex. Buy cheap disguises, but dress like locals. Then, find this man." He handed Teashi a portrait, "he'll help you."

The green, rotating, smoky portal in front of both Kiba and Teashi turned an opaquely dark purple.

The wind blew kind of like a cyclone, forming a suction towards the gateway.

"What is this?" Teashi backed up slowly, hesitant and worried.

"This is typical! you're in no true danger!" a man shouted over the high speed winds.

"Go before it's too late! By the time you can open  
it again after this, you'll have missed your chance to save your friend!"

Both boys were suddenly forced into the portal, and the entire world swirled out of view, the new scenery was calm. There was one brightly lit path. Star bursts of light swirled about, they were in empty space.

"Kiba... this way..." Teashi grabbed the Inuzuka's arm and took off running on the path. The lights swirled around slowly, creating dim yet stunningly beautiful surroundings.

The glow from the end of the path increased in size as they drew near, and then enveloped their bodies.

Both boys popped out of the rift, landing flat on their faces in a damp grassy plain.

"Figures they'd drop us in the middle of nowhere!" Kiba spat mud out of his mouth. "How are we supposed to find the shopping center the Kirigakure ninja specified?" He growled.

The petroleum-like substance that previously sat on their skin was now non-existent. The Kumasu boy thanked the Kiri ninja who spared him the agony of disintegrating in the space-break.  
Teashi stood up as a breeze blew across the hilly landscape. There were distant horn-like sounds, and as the taller teen rose, he saw a trail of loosely organized small lights of red and white scattered along an elevated path.

"Kiba..." he whispered. His eyes followed down one of the many paths the lit, and now mobile shells traveled upon and it led to a massive silhouette in the distance.

"Kiba..." he spoke louder this time and adding a nudge to the ribs.  
The Inuzuka was still rubbing his head, so Teashi picked the other boy up onto his feet.

The younger teen continued his rant on how uncomfortable the journey was.

"Kiba!"

"What?" he growled, still angry about the exploit.

"Kiba... we're here..." Teashi whispered, pointing to the huge figure at the end of the string of lights and obnoxious honking sounds.  
The majestic mall, known as the King of Prussia, as identified by the sign out front stood, lit in the near distance. The destination the Konoha shinobi had hoped to find was a mere half kilometer away.

* * *

**How was it? 5 will be up soon.**

**:D  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm back after a bazillion and a half years. Woo hoo! The story is coming along nicely, cause I finally got up off my ass and finished/shipped the chapter off to SuperD for editing/revision. He's a way better drawer/writer than me, which explains why he'll be designing the cover for this story.  
**

**Also follow my friend partypoison2 at deviantart cause she's the best drawer I've ever seen in my entire life. Legit. She's amazing.  
**

**From me soon:  
**

**~Itachi's nee-san rewrite (it really needs it :O)  
**

**~Just Peachy rewrite (it really needs it also)  
**

**~My first Death Note fic. Maybe. It'll be a Wammy's house one though. With an OC.  
**

**~AND IM ON FICTIONPRESS but don't expect anything good. My penname is changing all the time while I think of a good one, so I won't tell you it till it's set in stone. I'll post the stuff I write for school next year and the following. So... yeah.  
**

**ON WITH THE DEADLY TALE  
**

**SuperDifabulous- nothing from him yet. I'll let you know when he does, or you could figure it out for yourself :D  
**

* * *

5Crossing Tracks:

"Kiba! That's the mall right there! We made it!" Teashi grabbed the Inuzuka by the shoulders and shook him with pure excitement coursing through his body. "We didn't disintegrate!"

"What? This isn't just a field?" Kiba turned around, seeing the nameless mall lit brightly in the distance.

"Wow, that's freaking cool! I wish they had places like this back home!" The Inuzuka teen practically swooned over the sheer size of the building. "Well are we going?"

"I think we have to get rid of some pieces of our ANBU uniforms first..." Teashi sighed, removing his mask, armor, and kunai and shuuriken pouches, leaving them hidden in the tall weeds of the grassy plain. He continued to carry the mask with him as the red wisps on its left side coupled with the grin plastered on the animalistic bear face provided comfort to him, and a sense of belonging somewhere. It was one of a kind, if he lost it he'd never forgive himself.

The teenagers approached the mall, only clad in fishnet tops and long ninja pants, and pushed through the first door to it. The mall was absolutely massive.

"Let's find a store to get some clothes in." Kiba suggested, approaching the directory. He was soon overwhelmed by the nearly endless list of shopping locations.

"We're in the Lower Plaza level now. Akiko said something to me about a store called Hot Topic. Let's check that out." Teashi suggested. "Directory says it's over here."

The two teens wandered into the dark store, full of people with colored, gravity defying hair and massive earrings. The music was loud and quite aggressive.

Now Teashi knew why Akiko liked it here, it was as if her personality was scattered along the hooks and shelves in a physical form.

"I don't think we should shop here," Teashi whispered seeing a blue haired man with gauges in his ears that were at least 2 inches in diameter. He grabbed Kiba by the wrist, dragging him out of the store.

"Let's try this place... it's got lots of happy people on the poster." Kiba pointed at a promotional poster for H & M. It said that the store was in the upper plaza level and not too far away.

All of a sudden, there was a surge of people that had quickly occupied the space around the shinobi.

"What's the time?" Teashi asked.

"Around 4:30."

Teashi recalled something Akiko had mentioned awhile back, something about rush hour. "It's the busiest time of the day here. The teenagers got out of school half an hour ago."

"Well let's just get our clothes, pay and leave." Kiba suggested.

"Hey, you two! Nice cosplays!" a random stranger yelled. Teashi gave him one quick glimpse and decided that the man would be right at home in that Hot Topic store.

"What the hell is a cosplay...?" The older teen asked Kiba.

The chocolate-eyed teen just shrugged.

"Well anyway...What about your clan markings?" The Kumasu asked, stepping onto an escalator and leaning against the railing moving in unison with the steps.

"What about 'em?"

"We either get red makeup and connect them to your eyes like the clerk in Hot Topic or we cover them. We already stick out wandering around in half ANBU uniforms!" Teashi whispered aggressively, slight paranoia invading his psyche.

"I guess we cover them..." Kiba whined, putting a hand to his cheek.

"Let's go get you something to cover it up. The ad for that Macy's place said it's free foundation week. What're we gonna tell them?" Teashi inquired.

"I'm not exactly sure..."

The boys heard screaming from a nearby tattoo parlor.

"It looks horrible! You've permanently mucked up my body!" the voice of a stressed young woman echoed through the mall. It was instantly quiet as the crowd of people stopped and stared at the parlor, a few laughing.

"We say...that they messed up my tattoos..." Kiba smiled devilishly.

Teashi laughed softly, "That's actually really good!" He stepped off the escalator.

"This H & M place is up ahead."

* * *

"I like this!" Kiba grinned holding up a black North Face coat.

"That's out of our budget, Kiba. We have fifty of these things, twenty-five each." the Kumasu indicated to the '$1' signs on the green papers in his hand.

"Okay." he whined, putting it back disappointedly.

"Look over here, all this is on clearance. Keep in mind we'll only wear these things once."

"Yeah, I like these." Kiba smiled, grabbing a few articles of clothing and in a blur of brunette hair, dashed into the nearest changing room.

"What've got, Kiba?" Teashi asked, still focused on shuffling through racks.

"I got this!" He burst through the door wearing a long sleeved black V-neck shirt, complete with beige cargo shorts and a seashell necklace. Teashi also noted it hugged his chest and abs rather tightly, as well as defined his upper arms.

Teashi turned bright red and essentially shoved his head behind rack of clothes.

"It...it looks good on you I guess... Lemme find something for me. Go back in, take it off and we'll pay. Our current footwear will suffice."

"Alright..." Kiba disappeared into the dressing room again, returning to get his money from Teashi and then go pay the clerk.

With his bag in hand, Kiba walked back to the dressing room, Teashi had moved inside.

"How's it look?" he opened the door and stepped out wearing another tight, pastel blue, v-neck tee and white cargo shorts, accented by the tiny braided white bracelet in his left wrist.

"Sexy," Kiba laughed. "I paid, I'll use the nearest bathroom to change after you get your stuff." he grinned, holding up his H & M bag.

"Actually...I'll meet you back here in ten minutes. Go to change, and pick up that cover-up stuff at Macy's too. I'll pay for my clothes." Teashi instructed, and Kiba began to wander out of H & M.

"Okay." Teashi disappeared back into the dressing room to change so he could purchase his outfit.

* * *

Kiba returned in the time he and Teashi had agreed upon, his cheeks now a plain tanned-peach tone, and sporting his new clothes.

Teashi was nowhere to be found.

"Teashi?"

No response.

"Teashi?" his voice grew louder, and he was filled with worry as he ran down the aisle of dressing rooms.

"TEASHI?"

Two hands reached out from the last dressing room and pulled him in, holding his arms still and putting a warm hand over his mouth.

Kiba, unaware of who his attacker was, bit down hard on the thumb of the hand.

There was a familiar yelp and Kiba was slowly released.

"Be silent, you imbecile!" Kiba turned around to see Teashi in only the white pair of cargo shorts. He was probably changing, but something must have temporarily distracted him.

Teashi cracked open the door ever-so-slightly. Kiba sat back, his heart still beating quickly from being surprised the way he was. The Inuzuka felt bad seeing the fang-shaped, bleeding holes in Teashi's hand.

The wound suddenly glowed a hazy green and sizzled away. Kiba was thankful that Teashi always had a knack for medical ninjutsu.

The Kumasu's vibrant blue eyes peeked through a miniscule crack in the door as three men in black trench coats walked in, conversing quietly amongst themselves, believing they were alone.

"... They had to stop after a while, she almost died..."

"...What was her name again?"

"...Akiko Nakamoto, I believe. Her handwriting is very messy, and we are unsure still."

Kiba saw Teashi jam his eyes shut in a scowl and ball a fist, growling deeply, yet quietly. He was desperately trying to maintain his calm.

"...Look at her now..."

One of the men pulled out an iPhone, and unplugged the headphones so that the others could hear.

Teashi's face broke open like a bomb when he heard Akiko screaming, his features contorted in agony, his eyes bulged.

"...Which facility is she at?"

"The one under the old factory on the edge of town..."

"What's that?" another man asked.

"... It's a stick. They lit it on fire..."

"The girl won't say a word, except in her sleep she mumbles 'Ashi'. We believe it's a name. After breaking the seal on her stomach, a diary was released. It's full of Intel. She says things about struggling with insomnia and hallucinations from the fire that killed her family... We figure fire is her weakness."

"... No kidding..."

"Damn it..." the man holding the phone dropped it, and it landed so that Teashi could see it.

Akiko was on the screen, hanging from a metal rafter by her wrists, feet tethered together. Several men looking very similar to the ones standing near Teashi approached with torches. She looked black and blue, like rocks had been hurled at her mere seconds before. Additionally, her body was contorted, as if several bones were broken. She squirmed and writhed about uneasily.

"Get away from me!" a fearful, pitiful, raspy cry escaped her lips. The men looked pleased to make her speak, even though it was an apprehensive wail and held no informational value whatsoever, except the fact their suspicions were correct; Akiko was desperately afraid of fire.

That was all Teashi saw before the man picked the phone up.

"Get away!"

Kiba noted Teashi's fist grew claws, which caused his hand to bleed; no medical just was executed to staunch the flow. The Kumasu growled even more, His breathing quickened, His fangs grew larger. The changes increased exponentially with each wretched, fearful lamentation.

This was something Kiba had never seen before in his friend. The blue eyes melted to an eerie shade of yellow, and his paw-print tattoos glowed a faint crimson, slowly growing more intense. Instead of the flaming torches, the noises emanating from the phone changed to the snap of a whip, and Akiko's cries changed as well.

There was a series of soft whimpers after the whippings stopped, presumably from Akiko.

"Well, let's go back now. We've scoured this mall. From the drawings in her diary of her home and the people she calls friends, we haven't seen anyone matching the descriptions. What a total waste of time."

"We're tailing him." Teashi whispered, his appearance returning to normal. He pulled on his disguise, and was soon alongside Kiba. Teashi growled a bit to himself, and threw all of his remaining money at the clerk while the store alarms buzzed when he left.


	6. Chapter 6

**This story is really bizarre, just saying. But Sasu-cakes will be in it later, so that makes it better, right? I'm trying to make it a bit less OC centered and have a bit more CANON. :D 7 to be uploaded like, tommorow. Cause my dad need sthe computer to search for a job and stuff. So I don't have to live on ramen noodles. That wouldn't be a bad thing, but still.  
**

* * *

6Crossing Tracks:

"Kiba, no one's gonna help us! We've been asking for hours and not one person has responded!" Teashi growled, quickening his pace down the old stone road they were traveling on. He was slow. No, he was just being impatient now.

There were a lot of people for such a small place, and almost all of them were like robots, so determined to get to their destination they didn't stop for anything; a glazed over look in their eyes.

Teashi continued his trek on the stone path in the middle of a small town. All of the buildings were constructed of brick, and they gave off an inviting, homely feeling. If Teashi hadn't known such an evil organization resided nearby and that Akiko was in danger, he would have taken his time.

"I wish we had places like this back home." Teashi mumbled to himself.

The two shinobi had left the town surrounding the King of Prussia and were only two miles from the Gherkin Factory where they knew Akiko was being held captive.

"Wait, this man might know something." The tanned Inuzuka, now with fresh cover-up on his triangles, walked off to one side where a scraggly looking man was sitting by a lamp post.

"Excuse me, sir!" Kiba called waving a hand at the disheveled homeless man leaned against the light pole at the corner of a sidewalk.

"Kiba..." Teashi groaned; face palming from where he was now sitting on a wooden bench, facing the sluggish cars that chugged carelessly on the asphalt.

Several quaint-looking shops surrounded the solid black path the cars drove on. The people still meandered by, not distracted in the least.

Teashi looked around at all the small establishments bringing in people from all around. It was a very efficient town, the citizens here appeared as though the famine and economic recession that Akiko had said afflicted much of the nation didn't exist. People were smiling and laughing.

"Excuse me!" the voice of a rather cute teenage girl came from behind Teashi.

The taller, Kumasu boy turned around to look directly at the petite young girl, a stern look frozen on his face.

"Are you new around here?"

"We're just visiting." Teashi blew upwards, causing his hair to flip up, and then fall messily on his forehead.

"Need any help? You guys look really lost!" the annoying, squeaky sounds coming from her mouth were unrelenting. Her voice was high-pitched and ear-piercing, almost like a cat was dying inside her throat. At least she seemed kind.

"We're... looking for something..."

"Can I ask what?" the obnoxious teen was relentless in her efforts to get Teashi to say more than four words at a time.

"A ride to the old Gherkin Factory." he succumbed to her torturously annoying voice.

"My older sister and I can drive you and your friend!" the girl squealed with delight, giving Teashi a tiny blush.

He sighed. "Fine, hey Kiba! We've got ourselves a ride!" Teashi called to the Inuzuka whom was crouched down near the vagabond on the street corner, staring him in the face like a cat about ready to pounce on a mouse.

"Huh? But this man offered to give us a ride too!" He turned Teashi's way and pointed at the hobo still seated against the lamp post. "I think we can trust him, he says he knows Akiko!"

"Another time, perhaps, ladies." Teashi shoved one hand into his pocket and waved goodbye with the other, which soon mirrored the first and ended up in his other pocket.  
He followed Kiba and the hobo to an old rusted red pickup truck, the older man hot-wired the engine and they soon joined the mass of vehicles on the street.

After they were gone, the small blonde teen took out her phone.

"They're on their way. Jacoby picked them up. I think he's sending them to C-wing. They're much stronger looking than the girl, and even she put up a decent fight."

After a few brief moments, the phone relayed another message, through its walkie-talkie-like system.

"Good work, return to HQ."

Meanwhile, the red pickup took an on ramp and cruised onto the highway.  
"Where exactly are we going?" Teashi looked out the window to see the white dashed lines passing alongside him. The road was very desolate; very few plants grew around it, and definitely no tall trees to speak of. Just sand and rock.

"To the Gherkin Factory, that's where you said you needed a ride to." the old man tapped the side of the truck in the beat of the country song that played obnoxiously loudly on the pickup's radio system.

"Then where are we?" he questioned the man further, Teashi's tone wasn't very respectful, and the fact that he wasn't too fond of country music wasn't helping. They got further and further from any form of civilization. This made the azure-eyed teen very nervous. Kiba was too busy thumping his feet to Josh Turner's _Long Black Train._

'Kiba likes country music?' Teashi thought to himself, while trying to stifle his surprised laughter.  
The vehicle took an exit and after a few odd turns, the shinobi and their driver ended up on a side-road.  
Teashi's suspicions of the man Kiba seemed to trust became more justifiable when they passed an old, rusty sign labeled "Gherkin Factory: Next Right"

Three rights went by, Jacoby didn't turn down even one of them.

"Why didn't we turn?" Teashi asked his concern increasing as the abandoned factory grew smaller and smaller in the mirror, the distance between him and Akiko increasing.

"Lots of agents will be waiting for you back that way, trust me." Jacoby's mouth broke into an almost toothless grin, a wheezy smoker's chuckle following the awkward smile.

Teashi kind of gagged a bit, and looked back out the window.

"There shouldn't be anyone around this entrance this time of day." Jacoby swiftly turned the beat up old pickup to the right, sending Kiba flying into Teashi, Kiba almost forcing Teashi almost out the window.  
Teashi blushed at the Inuzuka laying on his chest and lap, and helped the chocolate-eyed brunette back into his seat

"Leave weapons and metal objects, they'll set off detectors and alert agents of your presence." Jacoby held out a burlap sack, motioning for them to dump any weapons into.

"Ummm... Alright..." Kiba spoke first, reaching into his ninja-tools pouch and pulling out the shuuriken he carried.

Once everything was dumped into the bag, Jacoby chucked the burlap sack behind his seat

"Now get out of my truck."

Teashi and Kiba found themselves outside the entrance to the factory, standing. Just standing, unsure what just happened.

"Did we just get robbed of our weapons?" Teashi kind of looked stunned.

"I think, maybe... I don't know. Are you ready?" The tanned Inuzuka stared at the big doors facing them, staring them down with just sheer size.

"You wait here."

"What? Why?" Kiba whined.

"If we both get captured, it's over. I'd like to avoid that."

"Alright..." he kicked a rock on the ground, disappointment definitely in his voice.

"Don't be upset," Teashi grinned, tapping the bottom of the Inuzuka's chin so he would look him in the eyes. "You're still important to this mission. If I get captured, you'll be the hero." Teashi turned a fair shade of red once again, and smiled at the dog-ninja.  
A similar smile crept onto the Inuzuka's face as well.

"Stay on your guard, Kiba. If I'm not back by dark, come in after me. Dark, or if I call for help. Listen for Akiko too." Teashi whispered, forming a hand sign.  
He condensed into a thin mist and slipped into a vent beside the doors.

The mass of water vapor moved down the plain, metal air duct nervously, slowly. It seemed that he wasn't being followed.  
Infiltration: Success

Teashi passed over an air duct with two men inside, watching TV. The two were alone.

The mist glided down through the duct, finally making contact with the ground. The particles coalesced and solidified into the ocean-eyed brunette form. He formed another hand sign and a pink mist was silently released out of his outstretched palm. Both men inhaled, and fell over, knocked unconscious.

"Damn...Tsunade wasn't wrong..." he panted, "Chakra control is nearly impossible in here... And I need to blend in..." Teashi whispered to himself, dragging one unconscious man that looked disturbingly similar to him behind a doorway. He emerged moments later wearing a black trench coat with black pants and shades.

Teashi snatched the man's phone as well; it contained a very valuable and detailed map, not just of the facility, but also who would be stationed where at any given time, as well as the location of all prisoners in the building.

If he tapped on any of the dots, a live camera would fill the screen, each dot and camera for each respective location.

"Akiko's all the way on the other side..." Teashi growled.

He tapped the map again, selected the "DIRECTIONS" button, and it set to begin giving him instructions to where Akiko was. She was in her "Dorm" as the listings called it, under lights out. It warned to take extreme caution, as she had almost escaped at least four times, and she was rather uncooperative.

"Turn left!" the phone announced loudly, echoing through the almost surgical-colored-white walls of the corridor.

"Shhh!" Teashi hissed, frantically trying to turn off the volume on the blasted phone.

"Hey, you must be the new guy, right?" a voice called out from farther town the passage.

"Huh? Oh-! Yeah!" Teashi grinned rather largely, trying not to act too suspicious.

"You're on your way to that odd Akiko girl's cell, right?" the man strolled out of nowhere, "You just gotta check out our prized prisoner?"

"Yeah, actually. I just started this position, and I wanted to check out the rumors."

"She's a violent, dangerous, bitch. Kicked me in the face. I think she just wanted to see me in pain." the man growled out the words as if he wanted to snap Akiko's neck in two.

"Akiko's not that way at all, she kicks like that only when she feels threatened! You must've done something first!" Teashi snapped at the man ferociously.

"How would you know that?" he asked suspiciously.

"Uhhh..." he grinned, pointing his fingers and jabbing a few spots on the man's torso and the back of his neck. Neji showed him this once or twice, and it would usually be the location of vital chakra points would be. As a non-shinobi the man crumpled to the ground, his breathing quick, then it slowed and his eyes closed.

"Sorry...actually, no. I'm not sorry at all." Teashi scowled, binding the man's limbs, gagging him and pulling his body aside, covering it with a white lab coat hanging on a hook on the wall. Nobody would find him for a long while; according to the schedule, no one passes through that area for a few hours

"Turn right!" The iPhone boomed again.

"I know already, shut up!" Teashi growled at the artificial voice.

Very soon there was a large, steel door facing the Kumasu teen. Through the windows, it looked dark within. There was a single lock, just a flimsy padlock, which seemed odd.

Teashi focused on his past. The burning houses; the screams of his now-dead parents.  
A tear fell from his eye, and he caught it with his chakra.  
Swiftly, he sliced the padlock with the razor-sharp liquid, froze the newly formed wound on the metal, causing to become brittle, and snapped it with ease.  
Teashi opened the door, and stepped inside.

It was completely dark, and as he stepped closer the lights flashed on instantly.

The enclosed area was absolutely nauseating.

There was blood all over the floor, the spatter of the same red liquid all over the walls, a contorted figure hung from the metal rafter on the ceiling in what appeared to be an agonizingly painful position.  
He could only distinguish that it was female, still, he already knew who it was that dangled in front of him.

"Akiko, it's me, Teashi. I'm gonna get you out." he hustled over to where she was and detached the weights from the fragile girl's ankles. They slammed to the ground with a massive thud. Two hundred pounds each.

"Huh?" she looked up slowly. Akiko was very disoriented, as well as not fully functional after being tortured.

"Ashi... look behind you..." Akiko mumbled, her eyes growing wide.

"What?" Teashi raised an eyebrow at the broken and limp teen hanging before him, unsure of what she just uttered.

"Ashi! Behind you!" Akiko gathered up the strength to raise her voice.

A deafening crack echoed through the enclosed space, followed by Akiko's exasperated cries of "you fucking bastard, I'm going to murder you!"

Teashi slumped forward onto his knees, then falling onto his face.

A numbing sensation came over his entire body, and just before the darkness completely consumed him, he realized one thing.

Kiba _may _just be the only surviving hero of this mission.

* * *

**I hope this story is good. :D it's not the best one ever, but it's good enough for me.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, leave it to my imagination and SuperDifabulous' go-with-the-flow-ness to create this fucked up and insanely twisted chapter. Just saying, it's freaking bizarre.**

**Now that that's outta the way, I'm sorry I've been gone so long! I have four-five stories on my drawing board at the moment, so you can expect more from me soon. Very soon. I've recently restarted _Akatsuki, my love._ And no, it's not me fangirling over Itachi-sama and/or Sasori no Danna. ^.^**

**NOW SOMETHING IMPORTANT~**

**SuperDifabulous has something to say!**

**"_I realize_ _I haven't had an active story in FOREVER, so I'd just like to tell you Hunger Games fans I;m writin a fic just for you! I honestly don't know what genre or where I'll go with it but y'know, go with the flow. So yeah, I hope you've been reading CT as much as me and Gaara Sempai have been writing it *cough* THAT'S A LOT, and most of the recent stuff is mine! INCLUDING ALL OF 8 & 9 *cough* I've been spiffying up Gaara Sempai's writing a lot thus far. SUPERDIFABULOUS:OUT!"_**

**__****Now on with this bizarre little tale! PS- ~xXx~ means flashback begin! But cause of the montage, I'll do it before the first one and after the last. FBs are also in italics! But so are thoughts... I really need a system.  
**

* * *

7Crossing Tracks:

_"The lights... They're so... bright..."_Teashi thought as he slowly surfaced from the deep abyss of slumber. Not only was he confused as to what had happened, but also felt a lot of fatigue and physical pain from the events before he blacked out.

The brunette slowly lifted his head, his arms bound together at the wrists and dangling from a metal rafter on the ceiling, in the same manner he had seen Akiko.

The people in charge here had also changed his clothes while he was unconscious. As of the current moment, he only wore the cargo shorts he'd purchased at least a day before, his shirt missing, but his bracelet curiously remained. The men clad in black coats had also placed another band around his wrist, it wasn't made out of anything metal nor was it hard, for that matter. Due to its flimsy feel, Teashi could rule out the possibility of it being a tracker.

Upon further inspection of the room, Teashi could clearly read the clipboard with his name on it.

The words in the most recently filled box on the chart read "Day Four."

Kiba hadn't come to get them. That or he had been captured. Possibly tortured. Teashi shuddered and closed his eyes, biting his bottom lip. Kiba...Tortured. The pain would be incomprehensible.

The frail teenage girl hanging a little less than eight feet away stirred quietly. Her injuries were healing at a remarkable rate, however unmistakably present. The tanned boy could now tell it was most certainly Akiko, without a doubt. She was still very pale, emphasizing the presence of the charred skin from the fire years before. The scars covered her left leg and right arm, as well as across her chest, up her neck, also covering the left of her face.

"I feel so heavy..." he spoke the words quietly.

"You'll get used to the feeling." Akiko whispered back. Teashi was silent, listening.

"It's just the gravity. It definitely has more pull here than at home. I tried jumping through the trees and fell to the ground." she laughed lightly, however sadness still dropped from her words.

"Welcome back, Kumasu Teashi. I see you're finally awake." a man garbed in the traditional black suit and black pants stepped into the contrast of the pure whiteness of the room.

" Nakamoto Akiko, it's been a few days. I see our little sedative worked, then?"

"Just shut up!" she hissed, her tone was sinister; murderous.

"Please, sweetie, calm down, nobody's going to hurt him... Not right now, at least. We couldn't do what we did to you to him while he was out, there'd be no point." he sauntered over to where she hung limply.

Teashi could see the lust to kill in Akiko's eyes as the man in black approached. Her breathing quickened and heart rate skyrocketed on the blinking monitor on the wall.

'Damn...' Teashi thought, if they had a monitor it meant they were tracking them. Or at least, Akiko.

"Calm down, little girl." the man in black wrapped his arms around her hips to measure just about how much weight she'd lost. His methods obviously made her feel uneasy.

"Get off..." she ground her teeth.

"What, little girl?"

"Get off!" she suddenly kicked him in the chest and sent him flying into the wall.

Teashi chuckled lightly under his breath.

"You like that?" she looked over in his direction. The look in her eyes showed she was still trying to assure herself everything would end well, especially after that little outburst.

This escape didn't have to end perfectly, no, it wouldn't end perfectly. The moment the weapons used to capture Akiko were perfected, ending perfectly was no longer an option. Best case scenario, the three would get away alive.

Akiko's mission to simply gather intelligence was a success; she had a job, coworkers and friends, friends that explained what life was like in America, as opposed to Japan, when she appeared to need help. She kept all this information in the book she sealed away in her abdomen.

"No, no, no, no!" Akiko was whining, desperately kicking at the men clad in all black carrying something long and skinny with dulled prongs on the end.

It looked like a stick, about 5 feet in length and round on the end nearest the hand it was being held with.

"What is it?" Teashi watched silently, unable to muster up the energy to even attempt to protect the horrified teenager. There was probably some sort of muscle relaxant coursing through his veins at that point.

Teashi was rather surprised when one of the men approaching with the long black stick turned and stepped behind him.

"If you move, even an inch, 75 volts of electricity will course through your body in a five second burst. Is that understood?"

Teashi tensed up, feeling very frightened and uneasy. He didn't like having others behind him as a general rule, nonetheless someone with a weapon.

"Get away from me!" Akiko cried out desperately trying to put distance between her and the stun stick.

"Akiko..." Teashi mumbled, subtly trying to get her attention.

His head shot back swiftly as the prongs of the metallic weapon penetrated the scar on his back, the sheer force of the jab and the electricity that followed knocked him out cold and straight into a horrifying montage of memories.

**~xXx~**

_There was a soft knocking at the door to the small residence Teashi currently occupied._

_"It's open!" the young boy called over his shoulder as he dug through the refrigerator_

_"I'm here, you want to go train out in the woods?" Akiko asked, opening the door and setting down her bag inside._

_"Yeah, I'll be there soon. Go set up without me if you'd like. Want a snack?" he asked, pulling out mass hordes of food he'd just bought at the market that morning._

_"No, I already ate." she grinned and rubbed a circle on her stomach._

_"What's with the smile?" Teashi asked, confused._

_"I learned a new jutsu the other day from Kakashi. Apparently he applied to be an instructor and is quitting the ANBU as we speak." she sighed. "How lucky would we be to be put on his team when we make chuunin?"_

_"That would be awesome, but Guy just graduated a team. I'm almost positive we'd be put on either his team or that guy... umm.." he buried his head in his hand, strumming his fingers on the coffee table, thinking. "Ummm.. his name is...Jiraiya, that's the one! The Sannin is looking for an apprentice!"_

_"Sounds interesting." the slightly older girl looked up from the iced coffee she'd been drinking, sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on the small table._

_"Yeah, what I would give to train with such an accomplished ninja, yanno?"_

_"I figure it doesn't really matter who your teacher is as long as you understand what they're teaching. If you're meant to get it, you'll get it eventually." she shrugged indifferently._

_"Speaking of teachers, why don't we have any yet? We each graduated close to two years ago. Was it because those creepy ANBU guys who just showed up in class that day recommended us or whatever?" Teashi asked._

_"Dunno." Akiko shrugged. "Are you ready to go? I really wanna try this new jutsu!"_

_"What does it do?"_

_"All I can say is apparently four bursts is my limit, if I do five, I'll die!" she swooned, obviously proud to have mastered such an advanced jutsu. Teashi thought she seemed overconfident._

_"Well let's go, I too have a new jutsu." he smiled._

The memory clouded again, just pure darkness remained as an unknown amount of time passed. The echoing and murky void subsided, another memory replacing the gloomy Cimmerian shade.  
_  
"Teashi, look at the clouds. Doesn't that one look like my Chinchin?" Akiko laughed, pointing at the sky through the large hole between the dense trees overhead._

_"Yeah, it does." he smirked seeing the small dog's likeness in the clouds, finding Akiko's obsession with her animals slightly amusing._

_"And that one looks like a pineapple!" she giggled childishly._

_"Whatever you say." he snorted at how easily entertained she was._

_The jutsu she'd learned was very impressive as well. How did someone as simple minded as Akiko land a jutsu like the Lightning Blade?_

_"I'm tired." the blonde girl whined._

_"Yeah. You did well today." he complimented. "You've improved a lot."_

_"Thanks," Akiko smiled._  
_"However, you'll always be a better ninja than me." she mumbled._

_"Now you know that isn't true." he smirked._

_"You know it is-" Akiko rebutted, but was cut off by the sound of an explosion._

_"What was that?" Teashi yelped; they both shot up in unison._

_"It came from home..." Akiko cried out worriedly, the tears choking her as she ran off in the direction of her house._

_"Akiko!" Teashi yelled after her, trying to slow down the tear-filled girl in front of him._

More darkness replaced the memories stinging in the back of the Kumasu's mind. More memories flooded to the surface with each of the stunning prods that stabbed him in the center of his scar.

_"Teashi, it's good to see you on your feet again." Akiko smiled from the dining table._

_"Hmm?" he snapped out of his daze, hopping over to Akiko on his crutches._

_"What are you doing?" he asked, leaning over her shoulder, supported by the wooden pegs under his arms._

_"Hm? Nothing, nothing at all." she smiled nervously, shuffling all the papers she was sifting through in a pile._  
_"Come on, let's go watch TV." she grinned, leaving the table to go sit on the couch._

_Still curious, Teashi simply responded, "I'm just gonna get a drink. I'll be over in a bit."_

_"Alright."_

_He picked up the top three papers on the pile._

_"Application for financial aid, form 1 of 17."_

_Horrified by what he saw, he dropped the papers. Teashi knew money was a problem, but he never imagined things had gotten as bad as it had._

_"You coming?" Akiko asked._

_"Yeah, I'll be right there..."_

**~xXx~**_  
_

Teashi was dragged out of the involuntary revival of the disturbing and depressing memories by Akiko's agonizing cries full of pain and suffering.

"Straighten up. And you call yourself a ninja." the agent spat in her face. She took it without moving, wiping it off her face with a skinny elbow.

"Your father would be very disspointed to see you like this. Think, your mother... even your younger sister. How dissapointed would they be to see you now, you filthy disgusting wench." the chains snapped and Akiko fell to the ground with hollow thud.

"Get up." he kicked her in the stomach much like she had done unto him earlier, except harder more brutally. Her body shook with the force of each kick. Akiko coughed up blood, her eyes expressing fear and sadness as they welled up with tears. The man's words were getting to her, even the strongest ninja can only take so much. The insults intensified and with each additional abusive strike, her body curled up even more.

"You're nothing more than a pathetic deadbeat who has long overstayed her visit in this universe." he picked up her journal from the table and began to read aloud.

"_Twelfth day of the fourth month, year of the turtle._

_My scars are fading gradually, however they never go away. Every time I look in a mirror, more painful memories of my past strike me deep in the heart... I heard on the news today the killer of my clan, as well as Teashi's clan will not be convicted, even after all he has done to us._

_Even poor Chinchin whines with woe in his sleep at night, not to mention the nightmares Teashi suffers as well. He writhes about in his sleep, becoming entangled in a web of blankets as he cries for the nightmares to stop, the illusions to cease. Tsunade says his injuries will heal soon, however, I am unsure; the healing will cost more money. If it were not for the Inuzuka's kind hearts, giving us food for the dogs, I fear we would have had to part ways with our beloved animals by now. _

_The medical bills, as well as payments for the house, food and everything for the both of us combined far exceed my monthly salary, plus his unemployment and the financial aid.._."

The agent trailed off from the readings as Akiko began to weep quietly.

Nobody could make Akiko cry, nobody. At least, it was very difficult by any means. Teashi hadn't seen her break down like this in years, since, once again, she was faced with the reality that her entire family was not coming back, that they were actually dead.

"You bastard..." Teashi growled under his breath.

"What was that, little man?" the agent with the dual stun sticks teased, faux bravery plastered in his features.

"If you lay another finger on her, I'll have no remorse in destroying you, and annihilating everything and everyone you hold dear." he growled darkly and defensively, making Akiko look up from where she was struggling to hide her crying.

"So we have a tough guy here, do we?" the man in sunglasses mocked, picking Akiko's limp body up by the throat in a single swift motion. She choked and gasped for air, legs kicking and hands clawing at the man as he slammed her against the wall, where she was knocked unconscious and then, finally she was leaned against the wall, completely unable to move.

"No, not at all." a new voice responded. Teashi opened his eyes from where he had been bracing for impact. The voice struck his heart, and caused his eyes to well up with tears.

"We have two tough guys... and one courageous young woman!" Kiba laughed with bravado. Teashi could easily see he had no plan whatsoever after this, but the Inuzuka's presence alone rekindled hope in the Kumasu's mind.

"Kiba?" Teashi inquired through his tears and Akiko weakly opened her eyes.

"Yeah, it's me." he grinned, the unconscious bodies of the three employees that had been harassing both Akiko and Teashi were strewn around the floor.

"I have never been so glad to see you in my life!" Teashi smiled, knowing that this was a lie, he was always ecstatic with Kiba, though his presence now was certainly in one of the top moments.

"What happened to the two of you?" the dog ninja asked, untying Teashi's wrists from the ceiling above him, not expecting to be so weak after four days, Teashi hit the ground hard, and just lay there on his back; he didn't have enough energy to get up.

"You little bastard!" the man who read from Akiko's diary grabbed Kiba by the ankle, Kiba heel-kicked him in the face to silence him, but lost his balance and fell onto Teashi. The Kumasu and the Inuzuka both began to blush madly.

"Give it up, you two." Akiko giggled slightly and with what little strength she could gather up, attempted to nudge Kiba with her foot. He lost balance once again and fell closer to Teashi, their eyes met in a deadlock of dancing auburn and cerulean.

Both teens blushed madly, their heart rates skyrocketed. But they couldn't tear their eyes away from the other's. Teashi could feel Kiba's chest go up and down with his breathing, which caused an even brighter shade of scarlet to creep onto his cheeks.

Kiba, on the other hand had no idea what this meant. He knew Teashi was always very close with him, but this, this was more.

The Inuzuka snapped out of the trance at the sound of Teashi's voice.

"Uh...can you um...get up please...you're kind of...um...crushing me." followed by another timid flash of indigo glimpsing into the dog-ninja's eyes.

Kiba began to help the Kumasu up after himself and Akiko noticed Teashi tensed up when Kiba's hand pressed against his scars, but the blue-eyed teen did nothing to stop it.

_'Kiba definitely must make him feel safe...' _she thought.

"Hey...**HEY**!" she yelled, the volume steadily increasing, and eventually getting both boys' attention.

"What?"

"I'm not exactly a fan this place, can we get going?" she stuck out her tongue at the two.

Kiba sighed.  
"You want gone with those shackles huh? Sorry...I was...distracted." Both boys turned scarlet with Kiba's comment.

Akiko spoke again. "Yeah... please forgive me for getting you two entwined in this mess. I shoulda been more careful, cause of me you're both hurt." she bowed her head, obviously wracked with guilt.

"There's no reason for you to apologize, raise your head. It's not like we could've known all this will happen." Kiba pulled over a stool to her side and loosened the bindings holding the blonde's wrists together as quickly as he could.

"I'm still sorry about all this." she whispered, shakily pulling herself onto her feet at first, then her knees buckled.

"I'll help you." Teashi offered, tugging her by the wrist and placing an arm around her hip, her arm falling on his shoulder.

"I'm still sorry. We've got a long journey back, don't we?" she slurred slightly.

"Yeah, are you havin' trouble speaking?" Teashi asked.

"I... don't know..." Akiko whispered, falling asleep, officially unable to support her own weight any longer.

"Kiba, help me out. Can you find a wheelchair of some kind?" Teashi asked him, sitting the comatose girl down on a stationary cot in the corner of the room, obviously unused until this very moment.

"Yeah, I'll be right back." he grinned, slipping out the door, clearly having a plan this time.

Teashi picked up the journal formerly sealed away in her abdomen. Also on the table was a black book with her name on it, made by the agents to keep track of intel. A third book remained unlabeled, presumably it would've been used for him had Kiba not shown up.

He stashed the black book away, assuming it would be evidence enough to at least keep her out of this realm forever.

"I'm back." Kiba sped into the room, practically riding the back of the wheelchair he had pushed. Teashi giggled at his child-like appearance.

"She's lost a lot of blood, Teashi. Her wounds were not properly treated, even I can tell that much." The Inuzuka stated.  
Teashi immediately focused on Akiko's injuries.

"Damn...I should've noticed before!" he worried, looking around the room. The blood from the past days before his arrival had been cleaned, yet permanently stained the formerly crisp and white walls and floors of the room.

"Teashi...she's still bleeding..." Kiba gasped as he lifted one of her bandages.

"What?" Teashi leaned forward and noticed that, in fact, Akiko's wounds still released metallic crimson liquid, which now seeped through the gauze that was once hiding them.

"Find me something to clot it with; I don't have enough chakra to use medical ninjutsu!" Teashi looked around worriedly. He recognized that she was on the verge of becoming anemic, and could very well die.

"Give me your hand," Teashi urged the dog-ninja.

"What?" Kiba blushed at the suggestion. The other brunette didn't have time to wait, he grabbed Kiba's hand and placed it on the largest wound Akiko had, an oozing gash on her stomach.

"I'd diagnose the bleeding as Class III hemorrhaging at this point. We need to get back quickly; a blood transfusion will be required."

"Where are the pen capsules? The ones that will open the portal back to Konoha?"

"Of course!" Teashi hugged the Inuzuka quickly and rummaged around in his ninja pack in one of the larger pockets of his cargo shorts.

"Here!" he yelled in discovery, tossing two of the pens over to Teashi.

"Good thing that Jacoby guy only wanted metal...otherwise I wouldn't have these."  
Teashi tossed one to Kiba's free hand and placed one in Akiko's limp grip.

Simultaneously, the Inuzuka clicked the top of his while the slightly older teen clicked his as well as forced his friend's thumb to click hers. All three capsules were punctured and the seal released. The jutsu took effect and the three teens were swallowed by a purple haze.

* * *

***Substitution for God. Don't wanna offend anyone, do I?**

**REVIEWS ARE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!  
**

**Gaara Sempai and SuperDifabulous  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm back. Lordie, I'm exhausted. Going to bed soon. Just wanna bring you this...**

**Updated 7/16 - 4,720 words or something like that.  
**

**Before I forget... SuperDifabulous wrote this and the next chapter completely by himself and I just edited (which wasn't much) so essentially, these two chapters are all his doing.  
**

8Crossing Tracks:

The pathway of glowing stars and lights was missing on the journey home; the team's return to Konoha, instant. The smell of early morning dew, as well as the orange of the rising sun pleasantly greeted the three teens, as well as overwhelmed their senses. Teashi was panting with an unconscious Akiko over his arm, next to him stood Kiba.

The team members were met at the Village gate by the Hokage herself.

"Amazing work, both of you." Tsunade said. "I can see Akiko needs some medical attention, if you wouldn't mind as to follow me to the hospital I can have my medical corps work on her immedia-"

Teashi's knees suddenly gave away and he began to fall to the ground, his grip released and Akiko began to come closer to the hard dirt path as well.

Tsunade reacted immediately, catching the girl, however she couldn't get to the comatose brunette in time. Kiba dove and caught Teashi's head before it smashed into the ground, then picked the slightly older boy up bridal-style.

"We have to get these two checked out immediately!" yelled Tsunade to the Inuzuka.

Kiba stared at Teashi's closed eyes and blank expression.

'_Please_ _be okay_..." he thought worriedly, then followed Tsunade to Konoha Hospital.

~~~~{#}~~~~

Slits of light shone through closed lids and shook the aquamarine-eyed teen back to consciousness.

The brunette sat up and coughed a bit, working on circulating air through his lungs. Someone gently patted his back.

His scars.

His hand instinctively snapped back and firmly gripped the wrist of whoever was touching him with killer intent.

The brunette opened his eyes and saw that it was only Kiba, staring down at him with misty auburn orbs.

The Inuzuka's cheeks were slightly reddened, besides his clan's markings, as though he had been crying.

The brunette released the younger teen's wrist and has him an apologetic smile.  
Kiba hesitantly began to gently stroke Teashi's bandage-wrapped back.

"Kiba-"

The dog-nin's hand immediately retreated, worried he had done something wrong.

"Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry!" he cried apologetically.

"No… It's okay… I wanted to know something…" he looked back down to his bandaged fingers with a single IV drip in the back of his right hand. Kiba's tender caressing resumed.

"How long have I been out?"

"You've been out for 3 days with chakra exhaustion and extensive blunt-force-trauma is what Tsunade said... but I've been here since we got back home..."

_'but why did I stay?'_ Kiba asked himself, and then returned to what he was saying to Teashi.

"I'm glad you're okay though." The Inuzuka grinned, showing his sharper-than-usual canines.  
Teashi leaned forward and spontaneously pulled the dog-ninja into an embrace, causing both boys to blush behind the other's back.

"I'm glad you're okay too," Teashi released Kiba and mirrored the aforementioned grin, which revealed a similarly pointed pair of incisors.

"Wait..." Teashi began to recollect the events of the past week. "What happened to Akiko? Where is she?"

"Teashi, calm down, don't stress yourself...please." Kiba reassured him. "Relax and I can take you to her, Lady Tsunade says you're clear, but you may have some trouble walking for the next couple days..."

The Inuzuka boy put one of Teashi's arms over his shoulder and supported the injured shinobi down the blank white-walled corridor to Akiko's room.

Kiba slowly opened the door and set Teashi on a chair at the side of the cot, as well as pulled one up next to the brunette for himself.

The heart monitor was beating regularly and breathing appeared normal, seeing that the blonde was healing nicely, Teashi smiled with relief.

Akiko had a few stitches near her right eyebrow and her whole torso was bandaged up. A cast enveloped her right arm, and there were signs that surgery had been done on her knees.  
Teashi grabbed the clipboard attached to the foot of her cot and read the records on it.

**'•left humerus/clavicle joint dislocated.**

**•right radius and ulna bones fractured**

**•ruptured liver w/ internal bleeding**

**•broken tarsals on both feet'**

Below the list of injuries the delicate-looking teenager had sustained were listed the procedures performed, which almost filled the page.

Teashi stood up shakily, Kiba's arm outstretched towards him but he waved it away, Teashi moved his hand over the girl's torso, hovering just above her sternum, and a blue aura began to emanate from his palms.

_'Liver seems ok...'_ Teashi thought, but the bluish stream of energy halted from his palms with massive jabs of pain throughout his body. _'Is my chakra network so severely damaged I can't even heal?'_

The Kumasu did similar checks on the other mentioned ailments, despite the ever-intensifying sharp twangs of pain.

He viewed the cast last, the bone pieces were in place, but not completely connected.

_'It's only first-aid treatment...'_ he thought, preparing himself for the pain that would follow from using so much chakra with the amateur agent's seal still in place on his network.

Teashi poured a bit of chakra out of his fingertips and the fragments clicked together, followed by a few unconscious groans from Akiko.

'_Dammit… it hurts…'_ Teashi winced, almost crying out as he stimulated the growth of tissue within Akiko's bones as to strengthen marrow-production and then stopped the flow of chakra; the treatment was finished.

He slumped back into his chair with the help of Kiba, sweating and on the verge of hyperventilating from using so much chakra as well as changing its form so soon after his recovery.

"Are you okay?" the Inuzuka gasped worriedl

The Kumasu boy glanced up at Akiko again, this time he noticed the three empty bowls on the tray beside her cot as well as the tuft of sun-colored hair across the room from the two boys.  
"Naruto...?" Teashi asked aloud.

Snoring.

The lighter-brunette sighed and looked back at Kiba,  
"I wanna stay here tonight...for Akiko..."

"I'll be here too," returned the dog-ninja with a smile. Teashi began to yawn, and then drifted off into the familiar wave of sleep.

~~~~{#}~~~~

The visions melted into the boy's psyche; clouding the entirety of his dreams.

_"I thought we were going to the training grounds to spar!" whined the blond girl trailing Teashi through the wooded clearing._

"I picked this spot for a reason, Akiko," sighed Teashi, pointing to the slowly moving stream moving past them.

"What does the water have to do with any of this?" complained Akiko again.

"You've only seen me do genjutsu huh?" the boy smirked as he slowly distanced himself from his sparring partner.

_"Ready?" he scoffed, crossing his arms._

_Akiko immediately wove signs and her right hand began to glow blue, followed by a sound of a thousand birds chirping simultaneously._

_Teashi began to take her seriously._

_"The lightning blade?" he was wide eyed as she advanced towards him with quick steps.  
Her pointed hand was mere inches away from his shoulder when he ducked and slid under her, catching her heel and driving the jutsu into the hard ground below._

_'Just as I thought...it's difficult to use without the Sharingan like Kakashi has...' thought Teashi._

_Akiko immediately flipped backwards, not fazed by her blow to the ground._

_"3 shots left," teased the brunette, "Better make 'em count!"_

_Akiko threw three kunai at him in a vertical line, he sidestepped and formed a sign reminiscent of that of the Hidden Mist Jutsu._

_"My turn! Water Style: Hallucinogenic Mist!"_

_A green-tinted vapor began to materialize in the clearing, Akiko was stuck in the ominous fog.  
Teashi disappeared from view; the kunoichi frantically looked around for the boy. Suddenly she was surrounded by nearly twenty copies of her friend, their faces merged into that of a grizzly bear. The horrific images growled and advanced towards her. They were a foot away when they vanished into the green haze. The blonde felt a solid piece of metal pressed to her throat, and a whisper behind her._

_"I win."_

_Just as the knife was released from her neck and the mist dissipated, Akiko was surrounded by a puff of smoke and a burst of lightning shot at Teashi._

_It struck his body and he screamed; paralyzed._

_The blonde girl emerged from a tree and smiled, "I guess I actually beat you this time Ashi..."_

_Suddenly Teashi's sweat froze, creating a thin layer of ice around the surface of his body._

_'Excellent... Ice doesn't conduct electricity...' he thought, 'I wonder what Akiko will make of this...'_

_The ice shattered off of his skin and the girl jumped back, kunai in hand._

_Teashi extended his hand towards the stream, a torrent of water gravitated towards him but stopped just short of his fingers, forming a rope of the liquid between his grasp and the stream._

_Akiko scowled at her brunette opponent, 'What is he planning..?'_

_Her sandal was suddenly saturated and a similar rope of water began to entwine around her ankle. Teashi threw a shuriken which effectively disarmed her; the water succeeded in making its way around her arms and she was held still_

_He approached her, smiled, and rustled her hair "I win again Akiko..." he released the jutsu, sure it wasn't another substitution. The blond girl frowned; disappointed she had been defeated again. Teashi began to laugh at the childish pout stuck on her face. She returned the smile and began to laugh as well while both of the shinobi walked out of the clearing to a nearby plain where they laid in the grass and stared at the passing clouds._

_"I spent some time with Lady Tsunade away from the village after I graduated from the academy." said Teashi plainly. "I learned some great medical ninjutsu, and with that, chakra control and manipulation. She helped me learn my chakra type: water, and I used my manipulation ability to freely manipulate the element to my will, I can even combine my genjutsu and change in chakra form, as you saw with the mist. But it's hard to do without a source of water nearby."_

_She laughed, "I learned to change the form of my chakra to lightning, but I haven't gone as far in depth as you have...I'll have to train with Kakashi soon."_

_"Practice is key, especially with this type of training." _

_The blonde was silent._

"_Akiko?" Teashi called, looking up when she didn't answer._

_Shocker, Akiko wasn't paying attention._

_"Teashi, look at the clouds. Doesn't that one look like my ChinChin?" _

The scene before him dissolved only to be replaced by another.  
_  
Teashi chased his friend down to their neighborhood in the village._

_Houses everywhere around them were engulfed in flames. Both of them turned to their own houses, red flames licked up the sides of both, causing the paint to peel up with the intense heat.  
Teashi's ran to his house and slammed through the burning door, the bottom floor was still somewhat intact, but the second one was destroyed, caved in. Tears flowed freely down his face, but they immediately dried._

_A whining noise came from the kitchen, and he was soon inside the small room.  
Amai was whimpering, scared out of her mind, cornered by a wall of flame. _

_Teashi immediately turned on the nearby faucet, causing water to be forced out with such intensity that it splashed back out of the sink. Teashi controlled the liquid with his chakra and sent it directly into the flames that restricted his dog._

_They died slowly with a sizzle, and he was met by a slobbery kiss in the face._

_"We don't have time for this..."_

_He picked up his dog over his shoulder and escaped the collapsing structure, a large trail of water followed behind him. _

_"I'm sorry...mom...dad..." Teashi held back his sobs as he witnessed his home, the domain of his childhood, cave in and burn._

_A scream came from a few houses over._

_"Get it off of me! Please!" wailed the blonde girl.  
Akiko had tried a similar maneuver as Teashi, but unlike the brunette, missed her mark and hit the flames dead on._

_Her face and left side burned; Teashi immediately sent a stream of water at her smothering the flames.  
"Akiko stay there! I'll be right back, I'm gonna get Chin!"_

Teashi used the remainder of his water to slice open the door to Akiko's house.

_'What happened to her parents...her sister...?' he wondered, but was already aware of the ugly truth._

_There was growling noise and the sound of scratching at the door to the basement._

_Teashi turned the copper knob, searing his palm, but he didn't care. Chin immediately bound past him out the door to his master. _

_At that exact moment, Teashi noticed a silver pipe on the ceiling of the basement had caught fire._

_'The natural gas line!' _

_But he was too late, the gas within the pipe ignited and the wall and ceiling exploded._

_Splintered pieces of the wooden ceiling shot down past the Kumasu's back, catching it in the process._

_Teashi screamed as his skin and flesh were torn, and he was thrown from the house by the blast.  
He landed near Akiko, both dogs seated at her side._

_He couldn't move below his waist, but he clawed his way to the girl and held his hands over her face where she had been burned._

_The familiar blue chakra surrounded his hands and the skin began to mend, however the scar, he knew, would be permanent._

_Just as he stopped the treatment, a nearby home toppled, the top floor falling directly towards the two shinobi and their hounds._

_Teashi didn't have time for anything else, he flung himself over Akiko in an attempt to shield her, and everything went to darkness._

An eerily lit passageway faded into view; a new memory.

Teashi stormed through dim corridors lit here and there by measly torches, his feet making no noise as they struck the floor.

_'Where is he...? What have they done with him? I have to find him!' The teen's mind processed nearly a million thoughts and worries every second._

_He heard footsteps closing in quickly, and formed a dragon seal._

_The boy evaporated into a thin mist and lingered along the ceiling as his pursuers passed directly through him._

_"I'm sure the kid went this way!" yelled one Otogakure shinobi to the other, pointing to the hallway Teashi had just been down._

_As soon as they were out of view, the boy's likeness materialized in solid form, a smirk plastered on his face._

_'They should run into my Hallucinogenic Mist Barrier in 3...2...1...' his thought was proven correct when screams came from the direction the two sound ninja had disappeared to.  
Teashi continued down the passage towards the Experiment Wing of the underground hideout.  
He immediately noticed one of the doors was wired, while every other room was lacking any obvious forms of security._

_The Kumasu teen unrolled a scroll he had stored in his pack, and released its contents.  
He caught the water with his chakra, took out a very small amount, about an ounce or so, and sealed the excess back in the scroll. _

_The ocean-eyed boy quickly sliced the wires above the doorframe and froze the water in its spot in the wires, so as to cut off the electrical current._

_He opened the door with ease and was awestruck at the sight before him._

_The Inuzuka heir was tied to a pole in the center of the room, blindfolded, bloodied, and half naked._

_Samples of the boy's DNA were held in vials on the nearby lab table._

_Teashi ran over to his teammate immediately, immense worry flooded his thoughts.  
He cut the wire restraining the dog-ninja with a similar use of his water manipulation._

_"Who's there?" Kiba was frantic, he almost sounded insane._

_Teashi removed the blindfold restricting the boy's vision. That moment, auburn orbs met cerulean ones, both sets of eyes filled to the brim with tears._

_Kiba yanked the older teen into a hug. _

_"I'm so glad you came..." he nearly sobbed._

_Teashi stroked his back, "You're going to be fine Kiba...I'll get us out of here."  
Teashi grabbed a set of medical scrubs from the nearby supply closet and handed them to Kiba.  
Just now noticing his nearly naked state, the brunette blushed madly and swiftly threw on the set of medical clothing. While he did this, Teashi planted a few paper bombs on the DNA samples that had been extracted from Kiba._

_"Are you okay for travel?" inquired the bruette, now placing his signature bear ANBU mask over his face._

_"I don't know if I'd be able to keep up with you...they drugged me..." Kiba nervously looked at the ground._

_"That's fine," in one quick movement, the ANBU clad teen hoisted the Inuzuka onto his back._

_"Hold on tight," he smirked under the facade of his grinning bear mask. He formed a sign with one hand and the medical samples were engulfed in flame as they exited the room._

_"That boom probably attracted a lot of attention, we have to get out of here..." mumbled Teashi.  
The 16 year old boy bolted down the corridor, knowing exactly where he was going. _

_The lone hole in the ceiling where he had blasted his way in was exactly where he'd left it.  
On the floor were the two shinobi that had chased him earlier, both were unconscious, and the barrier had worn off._

_One good jump was all it took, and both boys surfaced into the light of the setting sun.  
'Now...to Konoha...'_

~~~~{#}~~~~

Teashi woke up in Akiko's hospital room, his visions had subsided.  
His head was supported by something warm, and something with an equal temperature was resting on top of his head as well.

A yawn came from above him as Kiba woke up.

The boys immediately looked at each other, Teashi had his head rested on Kiba's shoulder, and his hand lay flat on the Inuzuka's chest.

Kiba had an arm over Teashi and also laid his head on the older boy's.  
Blue stared into brown; brown stared into blue. An equal shade of scarlet shined on both boys' cheeks.

The two teens slowly separated from each other; a sound similar to that of a wild animal eating resonated from the opposite side of the room.

Naruto had been making his way through a bowl of Ichiraku ramen, and finished it in mere seconds.

Both Kiba and Teashi were thankful that the blonde boy had been too absorbed in his meal to see the previous awkward situation.

The Uzumaki placed the empty bowl on Akiko's bedside table.

"That makes four!" he exclaimed with a familiar grin.

Akiko's hand rustled at the sound of Naruto's voice, and the blonde boy reached out and took her hand in his.

"It's ok Akiko...I'm here..." he whispered, the sadness emanated from his words.

"For Naruto to limit himself to one bowl of ramen a day...Akiko must really mean a lot to him," Kiba chuckled, but spoke in a tone of distinct admiration.

Teashi quickly glanced at him, but looked away just as fast.

"Hey, Ashi..." Kiba began, using the nickname Akiko had given the light-brunette boy many years prior. "Let's go see if we can get you out of here for now..."

Teashi nodded, knowing it was best.

About an hour later, both boys had left the hospital, the brunette once again supported by Kiba.  
They arrived to the apartment Teashi and Akiko had shared. The sight of his home made Teashi feel much better than he was, but was surprised to find he was not mauled by his dogs when he opened the door.

"Where're Amai and Chin?" he questioned the other boy.

"I hope you don't mind, I brought them to my family's estate. Just until you or Akiko were out of the hospital."

"Not at all," the injured boy smiled. "I actually enjoy the privacy. Thanks for bringing me home Kiba. I hate to ask favors...but could you help me get to the hospital and back once a day til Akiko gets home?"

"Sure," Kiba winked at the other boy and gave him a thumbs up, mimicking that of Might Guy.  
"What time? Is noon good?"

"Yeah, thank you...so much...for everything, Kiba." The Kumasu ever-so-slightly bowed his head. "But please, don't mimic Guy _ever_ again."

Kiba laughed.

"You don't need to thank me, but I'm heading home now, Mom's probably wanting me to check in soon anyways...I'll send the dogs back when I get there." and in a brown blur, the Dog-ninja disappeared back through the door.

Teashi laid down on the nearby love seat and simply thought positive thoughts about the Inuzuka, everything about the boy made him happy, smile, and laugh.

That night passed quickly for the the injured teen, he hadn't moved from the love seat and decided to sleep there for the night, the dogs arrived and sprung onto the couch to sleep with him as well.

He woke up the next morning, ate a banana and drank a glass of milk, then stumbled to his room.

He was still having difficulty walking, but he would be okay in the next day or so.

Beside his wardrobe was a door leading to a rather small room.

Canvases were hung everywhere, scenes of dancing scarlet, tangerine, and amber.  
Nightmares about that day of his undoing were splattered in the watercolors around him.  
He weakly slumped into the chair by his mahogany desk, pulled a new canvas in front of him, and began to blend the warm colors freely on the white surface.

~~~~{#}~~~~

Kiba approached the apartment shyly. He had gotten there at the time agreed upon, in fact he was a few minutes early.

He knocked loudly on the oak door.

"Come in!" yelled a familiar voice from within, however it sounded like the speaker was quite some distance away.

The dog-ninja entered casually, walking into the main living room.

"Teashi?" he asked aloud.

"I'm in here!"

Following the call, Kiba found himself inside the other boy's bedroom, and then located the other shinobi inside the small extension-room.

The Inuzuka glanced in awe at the surrounding paintings, how the colors mingled in perfect unison, then his vision was focused on the newest artwork: an image of a burning home. Flames licked up the sides of the building, and two kids, a boy and a girl, sat facing the building.

"Teashi...these are...amazing..."

"Thanks..." the Kumasu mumbled, "this is one of the only ways I can release my nightmares from the events of that day...the only way to let go of my grief..."

Teashi stood up, supporting himself with the chair he had been sitting in.

"They're so beautiful...I never could've done anything even remotely similar..." Kiba praised the other teen once again.

"Kiba...there's only one thing besides painting that makes me forget the darkness closing in on me..."

"What?"

"You." the one word left Teashi's mouth and lingered in the silent air.

"What do you mean?"

"Kiba...I think...I might be in love with you..." the brunette boy bit his bottom lip as he choked on the last word.

Silence.

The boy's cerulean eyes got misty as he glanced at the Inuzuka's face in search of any form of expression.

"I need time...to think..." And with that, Kiba left.

Teashi sank down to his knees and cried in his hands.

~~~~{#}~~~~

After a few hours of pure angst and sobbing, the light-brunette teen limped his way to the hospital to check on his friend.

As he entered the room, Akiko was sitting upright, five empty bowls total were placed on her bedside table.

"I didn't know what I'd do if I'd lost you-"  
Naruto stopped mid-sentence as Teashi entered.

"Ashi! We're both alive! And it was all because of Kiba, where is he anyway?"

Teashi's expression turned to that of anguish, and Akiko knew to avoid the topic until later discussion.

"So..." she said, "I get to leave today, but I'll be on crutches for a while."

"Well at least you're okay," Teashi rubbed the back of his neck, "C'mon, let's get you out of here."

* * *

**Good night...**

**Er, morning.  
**

**Gaara Sempai & SuperDifabulous  
**


End file.
